1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a unitary front cap for a vehicle, such as an improved motor home, to reduce the number of component parts and to increase the rigidity of the front cap.
2. Description of Related Art
Large size vehicles, such as buses, truck cabs, and motor homes, have frequently used molded component parts in the construction of both the interior and the exterior portions of the vehicles. For a number of years, the front cap, which is a portion of the exterior housing in the forward part of a motor home vehicle, has been utilized to complement a hood access door to a front positioned drive motor, a front windshield, and a lower bumper. An example of a thermoplastic front cap of a conventional design can be seen in FIG. 5. The front cap 2 is basically a shell having an upper bulbous canopy that is interconnected by a pair of side posts 6 and 8. The lower portion of the front cap can have an opening 10 to accommodate a hood member (not shown) for providing access to the drive engine.
When the front cap 2 is mounted to the vehicle body 12, additional component parts are necessary to complete the assembly. For example, an upper windshield trim 14 and a lower windshield trim 16 are mounted within the windshield opening 18 of the front cap 2. A right A pillar cover 20 and a left A pillar cover 22 are further required to complement the respective upper windshield trim 14 and lower windshield trim 16. A plywood dash base 24 can be further covered with a vinyl cover member 26 and the dash base 24 can then be sealed with a rubber strip 28 to the interior of the lower portion of the front cap 2.
As can be determined, there are a number of finishing steps that are required in the conventional mounting and assembly of a front cap on a motor home that can be costly in both component parts and labor requirements. Additionally, a problem frequently occurs when parts must be sealed together to prevent air leaks. The conventional front cap also requires finishing steps, for example, for the edges in the windshield aperture which requires cutting a thermoplastic fiberglass material with resulting labor costs and nuisance dust and debris.
The prior art is still seeking to optimize the assembly of vehicles, such as motor homes in an economical and efficient manner.